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Man punched during arrest settles with beach city
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer ST. PETE BEACH -- Shawn Rodriquez went to jail for putting up a fight when police tried to arrest him three years ago, but now Rodriquez will receive $8,750 for what a St. Pete Beach officer did to him that night. "What surprises me is they did settle this one quickly," said Rodriquez's lawyer, John Trevena. "This individual has been to prison and been convicted of fighting and resisting the officer. Given all those problems with the case, I was quite astonished we were able to resolve it so early in the case." Three years ago, after St. Pete Beach police officers placed Rodriquez in handcuffs while arresting him on an outstanding warrant, Rodriquez stiffened his legs and, officers say, kicked them as they tried to put him into a police cruiser. Officer Russell Nuzzo punched Rodriquez twice, according to a Police Department internal affairs report. Nuzzo, who was investigated five times for using excessive force during his career with the Police Department, was suspended for 20 days without pay for hitting Rodriquez. Three months later, Nuzzo was fired for an unrelated incident. Rodriquez went to jail for resisting an officer with violence, among other charges. After he got out, he said he was ready to forget the incident until February, when another St. Pete Beach police officer, Ron Bittaker, told Rodriquez's boss that he was a troublemaker. Rodriquez was working at Philthy Phil's Waterfront Bar & Grill, 678 75th Ave. in St. Pete Beach, and his boss fired him, though she said her decision had little to do with Bittaker's remarks to her. Rodriquez, unconvinced, thought the Police Department was trying to keep him from moving on with his life. "As long as I live on that beach ... I will never have a job, and I will never be able to live safely," he said at the time. He hired Trevena, who, as required by Florida law, wrote a letter to St. Pete Beach indicating Rodriquez planned to sue. The city's insurance company handled the dispute and quickly made an offer, which surprised Trevena. Although Rodriquez took the issue to court based on Bittaker's actions, the settlement had nothing to do with Bittaker, the insurance company told Trevena. "They claimed that whatever the officer did communicate to the restaurant owner was factually correct, so there was no defamation," Trevena said. The settlement dealt instead with Nuzzo's using excessive force when he arrested Rodriquez, who is now 28. Rodriquez hopes the settlement money will give him a new opportunity. He hopes to go back into the produce business with his brother, which they did almost 10 years ago, before Rodriquez started getting in trouble with the law.
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